And The Winner Is...

[Sitar_Ned]

Awesome work, Patrick! I've always wanted to build my own wheelset but it just seems very intimidating. Good to see you take on the project and follow through.

They look ridiculously sweet, and I can only imagine that cutting a pound and a half off of your wheels will be a huge improvement.

Thanks for the update! Be sure to hit us up with a ride report.. I'm interested to hear about the differences from your old wheelset.

[Carbon_Dude]

Looks like a nice set of wheels Patrick!

[Patrick C.]

I swapped over the brakes and cassette and took the new wheels for a ride today- I intended to go early, but inertia and the threat of rain kept me glued to the couch.   Thankfully the thunderstorms held off, so laziness didn't prevent me from riding.  Total was about 6.5 miles on tight and rocky/rooty singletrack.  When I first rolled out I heard some pops and pings, even though I had tried several steps to stress relieve while building.  They still look true, but I have not put them back on the trueing stand yet.

The actual weight difference is 510 g/1.25 lb, and I think it was significant in several spots on the trail.  There were a couple of spots on technical climbs where it certainly felt easier to get the front up, or to accelerate over obstacles.  Not sure if it was just in my head, but it did feel like they accelerated and climbed with less effort.



The bad news is that I had a burp or major leak on the front wheel near the end of the ride.  I skidded in a sandy spot, and went sideways with the front wheel.  Just after this, I could tell the air pressure was too low, and I had to stop and pump it up again.  The front wheel had been losing pressure slowly so that may have been a factor, or I may have just lost it all when I rolled it over.  After I pumped it back to ~28 psi it rode fine, but I was near the end of the ride anyway and taking it pretty easy.  I'm debating taking the tire off and re-taping the rim, to see if that is the cause of the slow leak.  I don't have a clue as to where the leak is, but so far this is the only real problem with my new wheels.

[Carbon_Dude]

Sometimes adding a bit more liquid sealant will help out on the slow leaks.

[Patrick C.]

Update on the wheels- they are still doing great, have not even had them back on the truing stand.  Unfortunately I can't say the same for the Rocket Rons.  They have been great up until now, but yesterday I sliced the sidewall on the front tire.  Stan's wouldn't seal it, but I had a tube in the camelback so I didn't have to walk out. By this morning the tube was flat- back to tubeless!

The gorilla tape has little indentations at each spoke hole, but it is holding up fine.  The Stan's definitely got under the tape at the edges and on the end, but not enough to cause a problem. Biggest problem is getting all of the dried latex off the rim and tire.

It looks like I should be able to patch the tire, but for now the Conti X-King is back on.  It went on the rim very easily, with no levers.  Planning to try it this afternoon, to see if I notice any difference with the extra 200 g on the front.  I guess I should be happy with getting 6 months from the Schwalbe tire- others seem to shred them much faster.  I can't think of a cheaper way to save that weight, so I'll probably put this one back on eventually, and get more RoRos in the future.

I have a superficial scratch on the rear rim- looks like it scraped a rock pretty good when I crashed.  It doesn't look like it will cause any problems, but obviously I'll be keeping an eye on it. 

[Patrick C.]

[MTNRCKT]

Dude, don't even think twice about that scratch! Those carbon rims will take a ton of abuse and the tiny scratch looks purely cosmetic. As for the Rocket Rons.. Comes with the territory. I've had two sets and both lasted 2-3 months tops and I'm a casual weekend rider. Really light, good traction, but durability doesn't seem to be their strong point. Thanks for the update on the rims. Good to hear they're are performing and holding up well.

[Carbon_Dude]

At the Scott and Giant demo days last weekend, the bikes that had Schwalbe Nobby Nic tires had many missing tread blocks and most of the other tread blocks were cracking.  Looked to be the worst tires out there for durability and these were on bikes that were barely months old.  I didn't notice the tire issues until someone else pointed it out to me, then we looked and every bike that had Nob Nic tires showed the same problem, even the ladies LIV models at the Giant tent.  All the bikes were setup tubeless.  Then we joked that they were $80 tires (retail).

I've only had a set of Racing Ralph tires and yes I did pay $80/tire for them (long story) and the rear tire didn't even last 6 months.  For that money, I would have to think there are other ways to save weight and not sacrifice reliability.  I go with a bit heavier tire so I don't need to carry a tube with me.  So far the Geax Saguaro tires seem to be a good balance between weight, cost, and durability.

However, if you are happy with the tires and get them at a reasonable price, who am I to say different?  Go with what you know.

[Patrick C.]

I don't think I'd be brave enough to go without a spare tube- I'm not convinced that the Conti tires are idiot proof .  I got the RoRos for $48 from Art's Cyclery- $80 may be a bit too much.  I guess I should say I'll get more if I find them on sale again.

[Carbon_Dude]

Sorry, I double checked and all the tires that had broken or cracked tread blocks were Schwalbe Nobby Nic tires.  I will go back and edit my earlier post.

[cmh]

Sorry, I double checked and all the tires that had broken or cracked tread blocks were Schwalbe Nobby Nic tires.  I will go back and edit my earlier post.

My wife and I have both run Rocket Rons, and have seen the same. Great tires except for durability.

Oh, and the performance line RoRos were one of the most terrifying things I've ever ridden on wet roots and rocks. EVOs are much better but are $$$ and those are the ones where the tread blocks get torn to shreds.